First Report of Bathylasma hirsutum (Hoek, 1883) Affiliated with a Hydrothermal Vent Field

Our research presents new distributional records in the Northeast Atlantic and an unacquainted ecological niche occupation of the deep-sea acorn barnacle Bathylasma hirsutum in vicinity of a recently discovered hydrothermal vent field on the Reykjanes Ridge axis south of Iceland. Vent-associated specimens were found with a different extrinsic appearance by means of ferromanganese shell precipitates compared to the else naturally shaded barnacles from non-vent habitats. Morphometric measurements revealed B. hirsutum from the vent-associated habitat to be smaller compared to deeper sites. The molecular data analysis revealed a strikingly low intraspecific genetic diversity, indicating a pronounced genetic connectivity between populations within the northeastern Iceland Basin. This study provides a first step towards a biogeographic study on this fascinating species in the Northeast Atlantic and discusses the potential for sister species to utilize equivalent habitats in the Antarctic and Pacific Ocean.
Bathylasma hirsutum with shell precipitate attached to volcanic rocks in vicinity of the hydrothermal vent field.
Bathylasma hirsutum with shell precipitate attached to volcanic rocks in vicinity of the hydrothermal vent field.

Read the full article, published by Zoological Studies, here

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